Eternity Row by Viehl S. L

Author:Viehl, S. L. [Viehl, S. L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Women Physicians, Fiction, Science Fiction, Life on Other Planets, General, Science Fiction; American, American, Adventure, Speculative Fiction
ISBN: 9780451458919
Google: QF3tcltYb9QC
Amazon: 0451458915
Publisher: Roc
Published: 2002-09-28T06:00:00+00:00

He raised his face, which was wet with tears. “You’re the doctor. You tell me.”

“These people should be dead. Why are they still alive?”

“They won’t die.”

I yanked him up on his feet and snarled, “Why won’t they die? What did your doctors do to them?”

“Nothing. They put something on them to stop them from bleeding. That’s all.” He swallowed, and wiped his face on his sleeve. “They never die.”

“You are not being clear,” Squilyp said. “They have to die. These people cannot survive these injuries.”

“They want to die.” Dhreen’s voice went soft. “We want them to die, but they don’t. They live. They live if they’re chopped into pieces or burned or lose their heads. They never stop living, no matter what happens to them.”

I let go of him as if I’d been scalded. “That’s why you call it this Eternity Row.”

He nodded. “We don’t die anymore, Doc. No one has died in over a hundred years. My people have become immortal.”

The operating room hadn’t been used in at least a hundred years, and prepping it to accommodate Qonja took time. Dhreen had retreated into silence, staring out at the ward, so Squilyp and I did the work.

“I don’t like the look of the exit wound.” The Omorr checked our sojourn packs, pulling out what we needed. “We must return to the ship.”

“We don’t have time to wait for another launch,” I said. “Even if we can find a way to signal them.”

Once we had established a reasonably sterile field and the instruments we needed for surgery, we transferred Qonja from the gurney to the procedure table. Squilyp scrubbed while I prepped the resident.

“Your pardon for this, Healer.” Qonja made a wry gesture. “I did not intend to make more work for you.”

“Thank you for shielding me from that blast.”

He reached up suddenly and seized my wrist. “The Captain is my Speaker. When he tells you-”

“Not going to happen. You just concentrate on staying alive.” I adjusted his infuser line, then initiated the anesthesia. “Go to sleep, pal.”

His hand went limp and slid away from my arm as Squilyp changed places with me. While I scrubbed, I wondered just what the Captain would say, if Qonja died on our table.

He’s not going to die.

Dhreen refused to leave, so I made him scrub and gown. After discovering the surgical unit’s power cells had died sometime in the last decade, I made do with the suture laser from my pack and some antiquated scalpels.

“You’re very good with those,” Squilyp commented.

“I had to use them on Terra.” I examined the instrument with mild disgust. “Give me a good laser rig any day.”

Once we opened his chest, things went from bad to worse. His liver, unlike Dhreen’s, had not survived the blast. Jorenian physiology ensured he’d live for another twenty-four hours, but beyond that was doubtful.

Playtime was over. “Dhreen, I have to get this man up to the ship. As soon as we close.”

“There is no way to leave now.”

I left the table and went at him, my gloves up, covered with Qonja’s blood.

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